Echorouk exposes presence of US military base in Tunisia along Algerian-Tunisian border

Despite the flat denial by the Tunisian government’s spokesman of the existence of a US Army base on Tunisian soil, Echorouk has secured visual evidence from well-informed quarters pointing to the current presence of a large number of US Marines and AFRICOM troops inside Tunisian territory close to the border with Algeria.

The US Military have reportedly set up bases in several parts of Tunisia notably in the regions of Benkirdan and Madnin as well as in Djardjiss.

The US Marines, backed by AFRICOM troops, have also established an army base in the troubled Chaâmbi mount in the Kesrine Governorate close to the border with Algeria. The US force is led by an Army Colonel and includes many experts well versed in topography and satellite surveillance.

The same sources also indicated that the US Marines and the AFRICOM troops were working in close conjunction with senior Tunisian Army officers, adding that there were plans for the formation of a joint US-Tunisian military force entrusted with monitoring what’s happening on Tunisian soil notably in terms of security matters through the supervision of the movement of people, goods and vehicles, across Tunisian territory including the Algerian-Tunisian border regions.

The US and AFRICOM military force is beefed up by armoured vehicles, light and heavy weaponry as well as by several reconnaissance planes including drones in charge of controlling and inspecting every nook and corner of Tunisian soil and the border regions by taking off from the Tabarka airbase in Tunisia itself, the same sources indicated.

Reacting to the latest disquieting developments regarding the US Military’s direct interference and involvement in Tunisia’s internal affairs, with the blessing of certain ill-advised circles in Tunisia, several Tunisian personalities including Mr Hassine Khafi, Mr Hama Hamani, Mr Mabrouk Kechroud and Mr Seif Allah Riss have expressed in separate statements to Echorouk their firm opposition to such an untoward contingency now befalling their already unstable country.

They stressed that the foreign military presence would be counter-productive and nefarious for the country’s sovereignty in terms of national options and decision-making as the US Pentagon and the US intelligence services will exploit such a hefty military presence on Tunisia’s soil to impose their fait-accompli policy and diktat on Tunisia’s rulers.

The NATO conquest of neighbouring Libya was a crucial step in expanding AFRICOM’s footprint on the African continent, since Qaddafi was the only significant opponent to US re-colonization plans. Also important is the key role played by the CIA in recruiting and dispatching “al-Qaida” extremists from its base in Benghazi.

For example, the US troop surge into Iraq in 2007 was paralleled by a surge of “al-Qaida” recruits from the Benghazi and Darnah regions of Libya. Judging by comments reportedly in his diary, former Libyan Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens knew of the CIA-sponsored flow of arms and terrorists into Syria and Mali.

Reports also indicate that he had contacts with the main al-Qaida connected Libyan arms broker (and CIA operative) Abdelhakim Belhaj, who arranged arms shipments to US-backed Syrian rebels. So most likely, Stevens’ assassination on September 11, 2012 by “al-Qaida” was tied to this activity.

Also part of AFRICOM’s nefarious conquest strategy is infecting the “hearts and minds” of Africa’s youth. To indoctrinate African youth in the deadly American warrior culture, AFRICOM sponsors events in which they can meet with US military representatives who demonstrate examples of the latest lethal weaponry in the US arsenal.

While humanitarian aid facades play well on the American home front, in truth, and contrary to the words of its previous commander General Kip Ward, AFRICOM is all about oil, containing China, global domination and related US self-interested policy goals.

One might ask why so much US attention is being focused on Africa. AFRICOM commander General Ham explained that Africa has “six or seven of the fastest growing economies in the world.” Vice Admiral Robert Moeller bluntly stated that AFRICOM was about preserving “the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market.”

 In other words, AFRICOM is tasked with the mission of maximizing profit opportunities for US multi-national corporations by notably exploiting the fear of the specter of terrorism to further justify AFRICOM’s ever-tightening grip on large swathes of the African continent